Yusuf Benallal is an Atlanta-based car dealer who also provides consulting services. His clients often feel stuck in high-dollar vehicle loans. In turn, he tries to help them figure a way out. The dealer takes dozens of car loan consulting calls every month, often filming and posting the sessions on social media. This week, he’s sharing an excuse he hears over and over from clients about why they signed up for a bad car loan. Watch below. First, though, I’ll explain how a nightmare vehicle loan happens in the first place.

How a bad car loan usually happens

• Shoppers have a brand or car in mind but haven’t done their homework (no building out a personal budget, no research into vehicle market values over time, no studying competitive loan terms and offers)
• They get their credit run at a dealership and are presented with a low downpayment, high-dollar monthly payment, and high-interest loan by a “motivated” car salesperson working on commission
• They sign the loan contract (pressure, excitement)
• They quickly realize how high their total payment is when insurance, fuel, and all else are added in
• A few months in, they’re losing sleep because they can’t continue without serious budget problems (inability to afford housing, groceries, etc. with the car payment looming overhead)
• They attempt a vehicle trade-in to something more affordable
• They’re told that they now owe more than the car is worth
• They’re either stuck with the payment for the full length of the term or can roll the negative equity to another car loan

If folks stop making payments or surrender the car, it doesn’t end there. Buyers are still responsible for a car loan balance, which could mean the difference between what the lienholder can get for the car versus the loan payoff.

Some drivers who are underwater on their car loans work another job or even rent their car on Turo to help mitigate the monthly payments.

In short, signing up for a bad vehicle loan can turn into a years-long nightmare.

The “stupid” ideology many drivers willing to enter into financial mistakes seem to share

A lot of Benallal’s clients land $1,000-plus monthly car payments. Some have interest rates as high as 25%. Over and over, these clients claim to either feel trapped or unable to fulfill their car loan terms.

When the dealer asks them how they got into their predicament, they often tell him one thing:

“The dealership ran my credit, so then I had an inquiry on my credit report, and I decided to go forward with it.”

The reasoning baffles Benallal. So many folks accept dealership “offers” with thousands in fees and extra charges added or poor loan terms overall without negotiating.

“To go ahead and agree to the deal because the dealership ran your credit…” he rants.

“So what if the dealership ran your credit? Let them run it 100 times.”

Benallal desperately tells viewers that declining a loan buyers feel uncomfortable with from the jump saves consumers from dangerous five to seven-year financial commitments.

I understand the frustration the car dealer feels after years of trying to inform drivers about “healthy” financing. However, in my mind, the issue here is a clear lack of foundational consumer loan knowledge.

If a bunch of people think running a credit check means you’re obligated to purchase something or risk something worse, I think we’re looking at a big knowledge gap.

There’s something very, very wrong with the automotive market. New cars are piled up on dealership lots because folks either can’t or don’t want to pay new vehicle prices. Car loan defaults and $1000-plus monthly payments are rising, concerning economic analysts.

Cars are not meant to ruin Americans financially. On the other side of the coin, heavy, unfavorable debt is now a cultural norm. A lot of people don’t talk about it, and suffer culturally-expected debt in silence.

Listen: I love cars. But they aren’t appreciating assets. It’s very, very important to not overspend when it comes to a car loan.

While I’m not sure where change needs to start…schools, home…financial literacy should be a part of every young person’s education. Otherwise, millions of Americans will continue to entrap themselves in bad car loans.